Kroger Announces Participation in National Convening to Inform the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health
CINCINNATI, July 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), America’s largest grocery retailer, today announced its participation in the National Convening to Inform the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C. This one-day event serves to bring together critical viewpoints to identify and discuss solutions for the crises the nation faces around hunger, nutrition and diet-related chronic disease.
“Kroger’s position at the nexus of fresh food and healthcare gives us a unique perspective on the role nutrition plays in prevention and mitigation of chronic illness,” said Rodney McMullen, Kroger’s chairman and CEO. “We are proud to share what we have learned through our Zero Hunger | Zero Waste commitment to help create communities free of hunger and waste as well as our Food As Medicine platform that helps people lives healthier lives. We thank the Bipartisan Policy Center and the Task Force on Hunger, Nutrition and Health for inviting us to participate in this important conversation.”
“The centerpiece of Kroger’s comprehensive ESG strategy is our Zero Hunger | Zero Waste social and environmental impact plan,” said Keith Dailey, Kroger’s group vice president of Corporate Affairs and chief sustainability officer. “We are making strong progress against our ambitious goals to direct more than three billion meals by 2025 to feed hungry families in America and to provide not just more food, but more fresh and nutritious food through associates who are rescuing and donating surplus fresh produce every day across our family of stores.”
Alongside its Zero Hunger | Zero Waste platform, Kroger has long empowered its customers to explore the ways nutrition positively impacts health outcomes through its Food as Medicine platform and through its network of pharmacies and health clinics, which make health care more accessible and affordable for more Americans.
“Today, more Americans are sick than are healthy,” said Colleen Lindholz, president of Kroger Health. “Simply put, this is unacceptable, and we thank the Task Force for taking action. At Kroger, we aspire to make a real difference in the lives of our customers and associates by making it easier to access, choose and enjoy healthy foods, while connecting them to expert and trusted health care providers.”
The one-day national convening event on July 14 brought together scientists, nonprofits, community organizations, industry representatives and Congressional leaders to move the nation closer to the goals of ending hunger, improving nutrition and reducing diet-related chronic disease in the United States by 2030. The outcomes of the convening will be delivered to the Biden-Harris Administration to inform the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health taking place in September.
This event was not organized or endorsed by the White House, but represents an independent effort to convene voices from across the nation to help solve the issues at the heart of the Conference’s focus.